to Casca:
I am pleased that I got some interesting stuff out of you. Most of what you said in the last post is pretty well put. The exception (other than the hemorrhoid shit) is the teacher stuff. That approach was tried with the Ba’ath party in Iraq. It did not work well. Changes have to be incremental and well-planned to be successful or effective. I enjoyed getting at your opinions though its unfortunate that it takes the Socratic method on speed to get you to slow down on the pure hate and actually say something constructive.
With regard to Cuba, yes it is illegal for US citizens. Not for anybody else. There is a reason that no major cases of this type ever get far in the court system. It is of dubious constitutionality and the government tends to lose the paperwork for anyone who challenges it. Do you do everything your government tells you to do? Did you want to compare crimes?
to AFF:
I read that HRW thing and I read my post. I don’t think they really disagree. While I agree that public displays of dissent are dangerous and that bad things happen when you do them, I still think that the talking politics openly thing stands. Its something you talk about in general terms or with people you trust. I talked communism and politics openly and with interest everywhere I went there. It was pretty interesting. Now as far as an apples to apples comparison of the rest of the red world, you have a point. Or at least you might. I was 15 when the USSR fell down so I really don’t have a point of comparison with the old bloc. I really only have my own experience to draw upon. The experiences you describe are really pretty alien to me. Your stories are like something out of Richard Hammes’ lectures.
